'Mad about Madison' shines during JMC Research Showcase
May 3, 2024 - Shae Eckles
On Friday, April 19, students were joined by an audience comprised of parents, peers, alumni and faculty to present research conducted over the course of the academic year. The showcase included four different sessions with a total of 14 presentations and more than 45 students participating. Topics ranged from development and women’s rights in India to Aristotle’s philosophies of ethics and law to the community within Case Hall itself.
During the first session, JMC Human Rights Data Science Lab presented their findings from the Sudan group, which involved open-source research of UAE Weapon smuggling into Sudan. To conduct their research, the team analyzed flight logs between airports in Amdjarass and Zurrug. Jordan Mountain (IR ’24), one of the lab leaders, explained the difficulty behind this project and the lab’s unique research methods.
“I came back this semester from studying abroad, and all of the students in my group were new to the lab. I had to show everyone how open-source research operates. Seeing us all learning how to do it and being on the same page was a really rewarding experience,” said Mountain.
“Having an open line of communication with my group really helped.”
The second session of the showcase included a group of Madisonians who examined the shifting culture at JMC in“Mad About Madison: Revitalizing and Re-engaging Residential Colleges,” using archival and survey data to find ways to keep students engaged and feeling accepted in the college. This project’s aim was to define how JMC understood by various interested parties and what it means to be Madisonian.
Students from the research group "Mad About Madison" present on April 19.
Each researcher’s positionality within the college contributed in important and unique ways. One member of the team served as JMC’s Student Senate President, another as a writing consultant in the Writing Center, another member of the W.E.B DuBois society and a writing consultant, and the final student researcher as an R.A. in Case Hall. These positionalities allowed the researchers to see first-hand how first-year students engage with the college and the community within.
“I think the most fulfilling part of this project was collaborating with everyone, and deep diving into what James Madison College is. Being a senior and being able to give back to the college while being in the process of leaving it,” said Jordan Roebuck (SRP ’24).
SRP Senior Neely Bardwell’s research, “Kiniiwin the Intergenerational Experience of Indigenous Students,” was part of the “Mad About Madison” group, further encompassing Native students’ experiences in Madison and at MSU in general. Bardwell’s work highlights that Native-specific programming and Native-identifying advisers and mentors are needed at the university level to properly support its Native students.
“I thought I was going to graduate without interacting with the college in any way. It wasn’t until this senior seminar that I became a Madisonian and started interacting with every student in the college again,” said Bardwell (SRP ’24).
“There’s nothing wrong with being real. There’s nothing wrong with being angry and frustrated. It’s about finding solutions…you can’t just be angry about something without finding solutions.”
Neely Bardwell presents her research during the showcase.
The final presentation, “Learning About India,” was a culmination of work completed by the 2024 cohort of the Madison Diversity Leadership Program and India study abroad programs that focused on development and women’s rights. These programs encompass the ways in which research should be hands-on to learn from and assist communities properly, and the ways in which Madison students engage with hands-on research.
“You need to understand the lived experience of communities to really keep their best interests in mind,” said MDLP cohort member Sydney Bayoneto (IR & CCP ’25).